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Council Housing

The Council Housing Service is managed by Berneslai Homes on behalf of the Council.

Berneslai Homes is an Arms Length Management Organisation (ALMO) which was set up in December 2002. The properties Berneslai Homes manages are still owned by Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council.

The Services Agreement between the Council and Berneslai Homes sets out the contractual responsibilities of both parties for the management and maintenance of the Council housing in Barnsley. This agreement was revised and renewed in April 2012 for a further four years and it has been agreed that, providing Berneslai Homes maintains their current high levels of performance, this will be automatically extended from 2016 to 2021.

Although the Council is no longer directly responsible for the day-to-day Council Housing Service, it works closely with Berneslai Homes and monitors their performance to make sure the services they provide are good quality and value for money. This includes monitoring levels of satisfaction with the services provided and the maintenance of external accreditation awards. Therefore the Council is very pleased to see from the results of the survey carried out in the summer of 2012 tenant satisfaction with the overall service provided by the Berneslai Homes was 90%. In 2011-12 Berneslai Homes' has continued to demonstrate excellent customer services as illustrated through the awards granted by: Investors In People (Silver); Social Housing Equality Framework (Excellent); Stonewall Top 100 Companies; and the Tenant Participation Advisory Service Quality Standard.

Berneslai Homes also works closely with the Barnsley Federation of Tenants and Residents. In 2011-12 the Challenge Berneslai Panels developed by the Federation have gone from strength to strength. This is a group of customers who hold Berneslai Homes to account by scrutinising aspects of their performance and this unique tenant scrutiny arrangement is receiving regional and national recognition from other tenant organisations.

One of the most important roles that Berneslai Homes carries out is to ensure that council housing is maintained in a good state of repair. In April 2010 a new arrangement was entered into in Barnsley called the 'Property Repair and Improvement Partnership, (PRIP). This unique partnership between the Council, Berneslai Homes and Kier delivers the housing repairs, planned maintenance, improvements and environmental works to council properties. The work is split between the two organisations with Berneslai Homes' direct labour organisation Construction Services providing services to two thirds of the properties and the other third, (in Wombwell, Hoyland and the Dearne), being delivered by Kier.

The Council Housing Management services provided by Berneslai Homes include:

At TenancyAgreement.com our mission is to provide Landlords and Tenants with a comprehensive one stop shop for information and frequently asked questions about UK tenancy agreements.

The Council is still responsible for administering the Right to Buy and this link provides further details.

If you already own your home and are in financial difficulties the Mortgage Rescue Scheme (MRS) could offer a solution, providing a viable way of remaining in your home, long-term. For more information on Barnsley Council's mortgage rescue scheme please click here.